Phases of procedural learning and memory: characterisation with perceptual-motor sequence tasks

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2019.1642897

ABSTRACT

Procedural learning and memory has been conceptualised as consisting of cognitive and autonomous phases. Although the Serial Reaction Time Task (SRTT) is a popular task used to study procedural memory (PM), it has not been used to explore the different phases of PM. The present study employed a modified SRTT and investigated whether it can distinguish phases of PM. Our results revealed that performance at the beginning of typing a repeating sequence was marked by a steep learning curve, followed by gradual improvements and ending in high performance levels without further improvement. Steep performance increases characterise the effortful learning of the cognitive phase, gradual increases at higher performances characterise emerging automatisation of the associative phase, and sustained highest performance characterises autonomous procedures when PM has formed. Our study presents an easy-to-use measure, capable of distinguishing phases of PM, and which can be useful to assess PM during brain development.

KEYWORDS:

• Procedural memory
• learning curve
• finger tapping
• rotary pursuit

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2019.1642897

Additional information

Funding

Support was provided by National Institutes of Health grant AA023165.